Meta: mass layoffs.

The mass layoffs, first in Meta's 18-year history, follow thousands of job cuts at other major tech companies, including Elon Musk-owned Twitter and Microsoft Corp . «Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I'd expected,» Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees. Meta, whose shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value this year, rose nearly 3% before the bell. The company also plans to cut discretionary spending and extend its hiring freeze through the first quarter.

Meta will pay 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for every year of service, as well as all remaining paid time off, as a part of the severance package, the company said. Impacted employees will also receive their shares that were set to vest on Nov. 15 and healthcare coverage for six months, according to the company. Some of Meta's wounds, however, have been self-inflicted.

A pricey bet on metaverse, a shared virtual world, has seen the company forecast as much as $100 billion in expenses for 2023. Meta had 87,314 employees as of the end of September.

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